U.S. officials say Russian Sukhoi Su-35 pulled a dangerous stunt in international airspace by performing an inverted buzz over a Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft.
The scene, reminiscent of a scene from the 1986 Tom Cruise film “Top Gun,” took place Wednesday over the Mediterranean Sea.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow had issued a formal complaint on the matter and Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters — Commander, U.S. European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) — blasted the “unprofessional” behavior.
People were interested in these podcasts
“My conclusion at this point is that it was probably something more along the lines of unprofessional as opposed to deliberate [orders from Moscow],” the general said, Military.com reported Thursday.”[It’s] been characterized as unsafe, unprofessional, and that’s exactly what it looks to be at this point.”
The incident created a space of only 25-feet between each aircraft and created wake turbulence.
A statement by the Navy struck a similar chord.
“While the Russian aircraft was operating in international airspace, this interaction was irresponsible,” the statement read, the military website added.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.